Ayatullah Sayyid Muhammad Taqi Musawi Isfahani Duties of People towards the Imam (a) Extracted from Mikyal al-Makarim fee fawaaid ad-duaa LIL qaaim Criterion of Nobilities on the benefits of praying for al-Qaim

Discussion Two: Regarding the value of honoring those places and tombs

Here we shall point to that which is obtained through paying respect to them: The principle is that it fits all the circumstances of respect and honor whether it be through Shariah or through common parlance.

Type one: Like the ritual prayer, recitations and supplication, as verses of Quran and traditional reports emphasize the Prayer of Tahiyaat and recitations in Masjids and other religious places show that these are ones to be respected. And that which shows the recommended nature of these places is the following verse:

1. In houses which Allah has permitted to be exalted and that His name may be remembered in them.⁴⁹⁸

Type two: Like decorating and kissing and entering them barefooted etc…and from what we have mentioned, it is clear that if one vows to carry out any of these actions, his vow is correct from the aspect of their respect and anything opposed to it is unlawful and if he does anything opposed to his vow, he is liable for penalty, thus there is no occasion to consider whether he had vowed to light a lamp at a place associated with the Imam or at the pulpits from where his excellences are narrated, the vow has been established as opposed to this thinking. Indeed, the Almighty Allah speaks the truth and He it is Who guides to the right path. Now that you have understood this meaning, let us see what are the different types of actions that can be considered as paying respect, for the sake of ourselves and people of faith.
For example, building, decorating, kissing, spreading carpet, lighting a lamp in these buildings; visiting them on special occasions, bare footed, in a pure state with perfumed clothes, putting forward the right foot at the time of entering in a dignified way, remaining busy in remembrance of the Almighty Allah, reciting Quran, Duas, Salawat and salutations on the Imam of the Age (aj) and his respected forefathers and on the places associated with His Eminence; refraining from impure (Najis) things in those places, and their purification in case they have become impure; according respect to them, not entering them in a state of ritual impurity, not to take anything impure therein,

1. 
   Surah Taha 20:96
   
2. 
   Surah Nun 24:36
   

not throwing the water of rinsing the mouth and nose therein, not to remain busy with worldly affairs in them, and not even to talk about them; the ladies must not enter in menstruation, Nifas; uncovering the private parts in them, not to enter with a foul smelling mouth, like that of onion etc., not to recite poetry therein, and to refrain from unlawful and despicable acts, not to indulge in jokes, laughing and useless talks, arguments, raising of the voice, in short to do everything that is considered paying respect and to keep away from every act that can be considered as disrespectful.

Here some points must be clarified:
First: In view of the traditional report of Abu Baseer that is mentioned previously, it is despicable to enter the holy places and tombs of Imams (a) in a state of ritual impurity (Janabat) and according to some scholars it is unlawful. I also do not allow that they be considered as Masjids as will be explained later.
Second: To do anything that is in contravention to respect of the holy Imam (a). Like taking Ain-e- Najasaat (impurities) inside these places, which is absolutely haraam if the intention is to cause disrespect.
Third: It is obligatory to restrain one who commits the above two acts of disrespect, otherwise it is recommended to do so.
Fourth: A person who reserves a place in these spots to gain benefits, is more deserving than other people for it. He will have priority on it, the whole day and night, except that he may give it up. Or when he leaves the place whether his need is fulfilled or not, whether he goes away for a long time or not. That which proves this is a correct narration of Muhammad bin Ismail bin Bazigh from some of his associates that he asked His Eminence, Abu Abdullah Imam Sadiq (a): We are in Mecca, Medina or any other holy place, and a person who was sitting there goes out to renew his Wudhu and someone else comes and occupies his place? The Imam (a) replied: One who has precedence for a place, has so for a night and a day.
I say: Even though this traditional report is without chain of narrators, it can be relied upon as the companions have acted on it. Furthermore it can be supported by two other traditions. Additionally, it is narrated through a remarkable personality who are referred to as ‘associates’ and not as ‘people’.
Note: Some think that the ‘and’ in the above traditional report is in the meaning of ‘or’ from the aspect of the report of Talha bin Zaid from Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a) that he said: Amirul Momineen (a) said: The market of the Muslims is like their Masjid, one who occupies a place, retains his precedence till the evening.
In view of a traditional report that is narrated directly from the Holy Prophet (s) it is mentioned: One of you, who occupies a place in the Masjid for prayer and recitations, has precedence for that place till night.
I say: There is no need to take the ‘and’ to imply ‘or’; rather it is by way of common meaning for conjunction that which is joined in it because its root lies in it. And it is the same root that the
scholars of Usool have described as: “Waw” is for absolute plural. And in this tradition if we take the pronoun to mean ‘precede’ the matter will become clear. That is one who precedes will on the day

of preference will be in that position. In the same way, if it is taken to be a person, it would mean as

follows: One who wants to take a preferable place should on that day on which precedence is taken, will be an eligible candidate for the same and the same is about that particular night. Thus think upon this as it clarifies what we have mentioned. On the basis of what we have stated, there is no contradiction between this tradition and two other reports that we mentioned as some people think. And it has become difficult for those wanted to reconcile them. Though there are varying opinions of scholars regarding this and we shall write a separate book about them.
Conclusion: The great traditionist, Allamah Noori (r.a.) in Jannatul Mawa, has narrated from Riyadhul Ulama as follows: I saw in some writings of Shaykh Zainul Abideen Ali bin Hasan bin Muhammad, caretaker of the tomb of Imam Husain (a): Ibne Abi Jawad Nomani was blessed with the audience of Imam Mahdi (aj) and he said to His Eminence: O my master, there is a place associated with you in Nomaniyah and one in Hilla; which of them do you honor by your presence? His Eminence (a) said: In Nomaniyah on the eve of Tuesday and Tuesday; and Friday and Friday eve in Hilla, but the people of Hilla do not accord the respect it deserves. One who enters a place associated with me, should recite Salawat twelve times as a mark of respect for me and the Holy Imams (a). Then he should recite two rakats prayer with two Surahs and supplicate the Almighty Allah and He will give what he likes. I said: O my master, teach me that supplication. He said:
O Allah, take my paying respect from me till I stand in pain, and You are the most merciful of the merciful ones. Even though I have committed sins that are many times that I should be punished for them. And You are the forbearing and You ignore most of these sins; till Your forgiveness overpowers Your chastisement.

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